


The Grub Nursery

by AradialSymmetry



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Grubs, Minor Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 12:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5627311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AradialSymmetry/pseuds/AradialSymmetry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With things settled down after the game, Kanaya and Roxy hatch a new mothergrub from the recreated matriorb, and soon enough there's a brood of wigglers to care for. It's a demanding job, but an important one - and it certainly helps to have friends who can lend a hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Grub Nursery

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Trombonesonmars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trombonesonmars/gifts).



Roxy tiptoed her way through the nursery. The mother grub was asleep, occupying a large spot in the middle of the room, and she certainly deserved her rest. Nestled up next to her were several sleeping wigglers, and a few other ones were curled up in various comfortable places around the room. And in a corner, asleep on the couch was Rose. Roxy smiled at seeing that one grub was curled up on her ecto-mother-slash-daughter's shoulder, and another was nestled against her chest.

As she reached the door to the playroom, Roxy noticed some movement on a table nearby. A wiggler that had been asleep there was now squirming around and yawning. Roxy leaned over to look at the yellowblooded baby troll, and smiled down on her. "Hey there, Vivvyo!" she cooed quietly, patting the grub's hair. "You ready to play?" The response came in the form of a happy squeak, followed by Vivvyo rolling onto her back and waving her six small legs around. Roxy giggled and picked up the grub, hugging her against her chest with one arm. The wiggler got comfortably nuzzled up, and Roxy quietly slipped through the door.

"Hello, Roxy," Kanaya said as Roxy stepped into the next room. This one was brightly-lit, covered in toys, and filled with the chaotic sounds of a few dozen happy grubs playing. "I see Vivvyo is done with her nap. I think Nakomy here should take her place." Kanaya nodded down to a cerulean-blooded wiggler curled up on her lap; as if on cue the grub opened his mouth wide for a big yawn. 

"Mmm, yep, prolly," Roxy said, making her way over to the couch Kanaya was sitting. Navigating through this room was sometimes a bit of a challenge, with all of the toys underfoot and the energetic grubs skittering around. When she made it over, Roxy plopped down on the couch, still holding Vivvyo against her shirt. The grub seemed content where she was, so Roxy continued to snuggle her there. With her free arm she reached out to grab a brightly-colored plastic triangle toy and held it in front of the wiggler's belly. Vivvyo squeaked excitedly and wrapped her legs around it.

Kanaya smiled warmly at the grub Roxy was holding, then yawned. "I might go for a nap myself sometime soon. Caring for all of these wigglers is kind of exhausting." As she talked, she idly played with the hair of the tired grub on her lap.

"Yep yep. Well I mean, we've got like sixty of the lil' guys, so that's a lot to deal with! And - oh, hey there!" Roxy's thought was cut off when she was distracted by some poking at her neck. Sure enough, another wiggler had climbed up the back of the couch and was making its way onto her shoulder. Roxy giggled, and nuzzled the grub as it settled down there. "Heehee! But anyway yah, there's a lot of 'em. They're not as needy as human babies, though, so at least there's that." 

"Yes, indeed," Kanaya replied, carefully picking up the now-sleeping Nakomy off of her lap. "Honestly I'm not sure how your species was even able to survive with how helpless human wigglers are. It is quite baffling if you ask me." 

"Heheh, well, we manage somehow. Maybe we'll hafta ectobiologize some of 'em sometime so you can see for yourself," Roxy said with a chuckle. She then turned her attention back to the grub on her shoulder, who was now peering down and squeaking at Vivvyo. Roxy could see it was a jadeblooded grub, and the curl of the horns gave away his identity. "Aww, hey Qubjif, do you guys wanna play?" The grub squeaked happily again, then slid his way down Roxy's shirt to where Vivvyo was. The two wigglers wrestled around playfully a bit, then both crawled off out of Roxy's arms and skittered off. 

"Perhaps. But certainly not in the immediate future," Kanaya sighed, standing up and moving slowly towards the nursery room. She stopped for a moment to turn her head towards a clock display. "Oh, speaking of the immediate future. Mealtime is scheduled in... two minutes and forty-six seconds from now, it seems."

"Yum! I could deffo go for some food here," Roxy said, patting her belly and sinking back into the couch. "And I bet all of the wigglers could too. I mean, they don't look all that hungry, but..." 

"Oh, well that will change when the food shows up," Kanaya replied with a giggle, stepping over to the door and slipping into the next room. "I will be right back." 

"Mkay," Roxy said, looking out over the room. There were grubs all over the floors, and on many of the shelves and other surfaces too - some wiggling around, some playing intently with toys, and some curling up for a short break from all of their excitement. A group of four of the grubs were pushing around some wood blocks and building things, and another bunch of grubs were curled together in a pile watching Troll Sesame Street off in the corner. Roxy didn't see any wigglers that seemed too upset, nor did she hear any crying or particularly unhappy squeaking, so she stayed put and let all of them be for the moment.

Roxy watched idly over the room for a couple minutes, settling into a contented and relaxed state as she observed all of the happy playing grubs. She had just gotten nice and comfortable when she was jolted back to alertness by a strange noise and a bright flash off to the side. Roxy turned to look, and found a red-clothed figure was grinning down at her. 

"Aradia's delivery service! Always right on _time_!" the newly-arrived troll announced cheerfully. She then proceeded to uncaptchalogue a large insulated delivery bag and open it up. "Lots of pizza for hungry grubs! And anyone else, I guess." 

"Oh, hey 'Radia," Roxy said with a wave. She and Kanaya were glad that some of their friends were willing to help out with caring for all of the wigglers. Fortunately, Jane was happy to coordinate meals for everyone, and Aradia's time-travel kept everything on schedule. Roxy scootched across the couch towards where the girl was floating. There was a small table at that end of the couch, empty except for a bronzeblooded grub was playing with a toy atop it. Roxy scooped him up. "C'mere Jyeovy! You're where the pizza needs to be! Yum yum." The wiggler still looked vaguely distraught, but seemed to cheer up when Roxy nuzzled his forehead and gave him a quick kiss.

Aradia proceeded to set the boxes of pizza down on the table, then she opened the top one. "Yum, this smells good!" Roxy peered in to see the first pizza was just a plain cheese one. Aradia went to work separating the slices apart, and then set the box down on the floor. Several hungry grubs had already been drawn over by the aroma, and they eagerly pounced into the cardboard container and started to eat.

"Ah, hello Aradia," Kanaya said as she reappeared through the door from the nursery, carrying another recently-awoken grub in her arms. "Oh, I see it is pizza day. Good, the wigglers always love that."

"Mmm, yep, they seem to. Though it still seems weird that we're feeding pizza to babies!" Roxy said. She couldn't help but giggle as she watched the grubs eat - they all nibbled hungrily at the slices, either crawling up next to one or rolling onto their back and pulling some pizza up above their belly. Some of them hoarded their claimed piece all to themselves, while others shared opposite ends of a slice with a friend. 

"I do not see how it is so strange. Pizza is nutrient-dense and easily digestible, it seems like an ideal food for wigglers," Kanaya shrugged, setting the grub she was holding down on the floor and coming over to the couch.

"It's also an ideal food for older trolls!" Aradia said cheerily, having already opened the next box and taken a slice. With her usual wide grin, she proceeded to take a large bite. "Mmmm! Jane's supreme pizza is really great." 

"Yes, yes it is." Kanaya said with a sigh, plopping down next to Roxy. She reached over and grabbed two slices of the pizza. She immediately bit into one, but held the other out for Roxy. 

"It totes is. And thanks Kanaya," Roxy said, happily taking the slice she was offered and nibbling at the tip. "Hm. Though I could do without the mushrooms." Roxy poked at the slice and picked off the ones she could find. She glanced around for a moment to figure out what to do with the offending toppings, before some squirming reminded her she still had Jyeovy on her lap. Roxy dangled the mushrooms just above the wiggler, and he quickly rolled over and grabbed at them with his grublegs. Roxy took another bite of her slice of pizza, then smiled down as she watched Jyeovy devour the mushrooms he was handed.

"Aww, don't you think he should get his own slice?" Aradia said, fluttering over to Roxy and placing a fresh slice of supreme pizza onto Jyeovy's waiting legs. The grub squealed in delight and then started to eat. Aradia went back to the box and picked up another piece for herself, taking a big bite. She also opened up another box of pizza to put on the floor for the increasing crowd of hungry grubs that had made their way over. "Oooh, there's Dikaro! I was wondering where she got off to!" With a swift motion, Aradia leaned down and swept up a rustblooded grub, hoisting her into the air and spinning around. Dikaro laughed excitedly at the attention, breaking into a grin reminiscent of Aradia's.

"Aww cute! You really like her, dontcha?" Roxy laughed happily as Aradia swung the grub through the air and made airplane noises. "And I think she likes you!"

"Yes, yes she does," Kanaya said, in between bites of pizza. "However, please don't leave with her in your hood again, Aradia." 

"Aww! But then how am I going to be able to teach her all about time travel?" Aradia laughed, hugging the grub tightly against her chest before putting her down next to one of the pizza boxes. Dikaro quickly crawled in to claim a slice of pizza. "Speaking of time travel... I better get going! Lots to do!" Aradia make a double-pistols-and-a-wink gesture, and then with another flash of light disappeared.

Kanaya sighed and settled back into the couch. "Well, it's good to have some of the others interested in helping with the wigglers. Even if they don't really know what's age-appropriate to teach them. We certainly don't need any time-traveling grubs around here." 

Roxy snorted at that thought, looking over at Kanaya. "Hah yeah, they're hard enough to keep track of now!" She paused for a moment, about to continue her thought, but was distracted by a sudden cry. "Oh nooo, what happened?" 

"It seems to be coming from over there," Kanaya pointed to a corner with several grubs crowded around some toys. Sure enough, one of them looked to be curled up around herself and bawling. Roxy scooped Jyeovy off of her lap and popped off the couch, making her way across the room to attend to the crying wiggler. "Aww, what's wrong, Oxlaku?" 

The tealblooded grub whimpered as Roxy scooped her up, and seemed to be cradling the middle leg on her right side. Roxy gently prodded at the leg, and Oxlaku screamed out in response. Roxy quickly shooshed her, but not before looking around a bit more to make sure that nothing seemed to be bleeding or broken. "Well I dunno, I'm not a grub doctor but it doesn't look like there's anything wrong! Did ya just stub your leg, babe?" Roxy nuzzled her face against the wiggler and planted a kiss on Oxlaku's head as she made her way back to the couch. The grub whimpered a bit more, but the affection seemed to be calming her down. 

"Oh dear, does she seem to be doing okay?" Kanaya asked, looking over at the crying grub. "They were building a block tower over there but it seems to have collapsed, that must have been how she got hurt." She reached over to pat Oxlaku on the head gently. 

"Aww, did your tower fall over? That's no fun," Roxy held the grub close. When the crying subsided, she gently started to rub a finger along the grub's injured leg; Oxlaku whimpered a bit more but didn't seem to object too much. "Heehee, is auntie Roxy helping with your booboo? Mwah mwah mwah," Roxy made some exaggerated kissing motions at the leg, which earned a small laugh from the wiggler.

"Auntie Rose thinks you might want to go to a life player for that, maybe," a voice came from the doorway. Standing there was Rose, rubbing her eyes and still wearing the Derse pajamas she was napping in. On her shoulder was a similarly tired-looking wiggler. "Good morning to you all. Or is it good evening? I've lost track of my sleep schedule these days." 

"Well, yes, caring for wigglers will do that for you," Kanaya said with a giggle. "And good evening to you as well, Rose. I hope you had a decent nap." 

"Let's just call it sufficient," Rose said with a shrug as she walked over. The grub on her shoulder seemed to stir at the smell of pizza, so Rose carefully picked him up and lowered him down to one of the boxes. Then she leaned over to give Kanaya a kiss on the cheek, before sitting on her lap. "Mmmh... I could use a bit of time resting here, though." 

"Aww, so cute!" Roxy cooed as she watched Rose and Kanaya cuddle up together next to her on the couch, still gently rubbing Oxlaku's hurt leg. At this point the grub seemed to be feeling better, and had gotten comfortable snuggled against Roxy's arm. Roxy paused playing with the grub to reach over and playfully shove at Rose's leg. "Heheh, where wouldja even be without a cute alien girlfriend to lean on?" 

"Well, probably not having my sleep schedule wrecked by taking care of grubs," Rose deadpanned. Then she giggled and squeezed Kanaya tightly. "But I'll take this over the alternative, thank you very much."

**Author's Note:**

> I pretty much had to go with this prompt since I feel uniquely qualified to write about hugging cute grubs! :P. It was a lot of fun to write, and I hope it fits what you were looking for.


End file.
